Human Grace
This time, it's just Dean and Cass, but Sam will be back in the next chapter, along with someone else. For now, let's see what happens when Dean takes Cass for a little stroll.
After walking through the woods for about fifteen minutes, Cass was starting to understand why Dean liked taking walks almost every evening.
"It's very peaceful here," he observed. "Quite calming. I can see why you enjoy coming here so often."
"Well, I'm not doing it for the exercise, that's for sure," Dean admitted. "I'm not Sam. I just like to come out here to clear my head a bit. It's relaxing. No running, no jogging, you just go at your own pace."
"Nature is truly beautiful," Cass smiled as he admired the colorful autumn trees on their path. "One of the greatest creations in this universe."
"Is that so? You think it's greater than humanity?" Dean stopped walking and turned around to face Cass.
Cass had no idea what to say. How was he supposed to respond to a question like that? He knew it was good to be honest, but he hated to hurt anyone's feelings, especially Dean's.
"Well, uh, it's kind of hard to say," he answered nervously. "Humans can be incredibly selfish and cruel, but then again, the wrath of nature can be even worse. Both of them are capable of destroying many lives. I do enjoy being out in nature, but honestly, it's not that important to me. As long as we're together, I'm happy."
Blushing like a lovestruck teenager, Dean walked closer and put his hands on Cass' hips, giving him a peck on the lips. However, before he could go in for a deeper kiss, there was a sudden rustling sound.
"Dean!" Cass exclaimed.
Turning to his left, where Cass was now looking, Dean noticed a fawn coming toward them. Before he knew it, Cass was heading over to get a better look.
"Cass, wait!"
"What animal is this, Dean? It's so cute and gentle looking."
"You don't know? That's kind of surprising. I would have guessed you know almost every animal on earth."
"Well, I know the names of most of God's creations, but that doesn't mean I've seen every animal on earth."
"It's a deer," Dean chuckled, smiling to himself. It was like a kid meeting an animal he never saw before.
Cass smiled excitedly as the curious fawn walked up to him. Before he could stop himself, he started to pet its head.
"Be careful, Cass," Dean warned. "It might bite you or something."
"No," Cass said calmly. "I think she likes it. Besides, I think she's a baby."
"Okay, but doesn't that mean—"
"There's more!"
Just as Cass had said, two more fawns had emerged. As they headed toward him, one more came out.
With four fawns surrounding him, trying to get his attention, Cass smiled as he tried to pet them all.
"I guess animals like you," Dean chuckled. "No surprise there."
"Maybe they're hungry?" Cass wondered. "What do they eat? Do you have anything I could give them?"
Dean checked his jacket pockets, but they were surprisingly empty. All he could feel were crumbs.
"That's strange. I usually have something, but I've got nothing. Nothing but crumbs. Well, whatever it was, I guess I already ate it. Sorry."
"That's okay. I know you love to eat. Besides, it was probably something they couldn't eat."
"Probably."
A few minutes passed and Cass was still captivated by the adorable creatures.
"Hey Cass, I know you've made some new friends and all, but if we want to make it back in time for dinner, we should probably start heading back soon. I don't think Sam would appreciate it if we let dinner get cold."
Hearing that, Cass immediately felt how hungry he was.
"Okay," he replied. "I'll be right there. Just a little bit long—" Suddenly, there was a louder rustling sound. Two large deer appeared, causing him to gasp and move back a few steps. Dean wanted to run and grab Cass, but he knew sudden movement might not be a great idea.
When the two bigger deer started making sounds, the fawns ran back and hid behind them. Then, with no warning, the deer stomped their front feet and started charging.
"Oh, mother—" Dean started to yell.
"Yes, I think they are the mothers!"
Unfortunately, Cass was still standing in place, just like a deer in headlights. Luckily, Dean leaped into action and grabbed his right hand before sprinting down the path back home.
After running as fast as they could for what felt like an eternity, they eventually came to a stop and collapsed on their hands and knees, trying to catch their breath.
"I think…we lost them," Dean finally spoke as his breathing started to become normal again.
"Yeah," Cass agreed as he looked behind. "I don't see them. They probably didn't even follow us."
"Yeah? Well, I'd like to say they did. We didn't just run that fast for nothing, you know what I mean?"
"We probably outran them," Cass chuckled, smiling at Dean. "You know, this kind of reminds me of the day we ran away from that hardware store, but much worse. Remember?"
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about that." Dean was relieved that Cass no longer felt ashamed about that day. It was great to see him learning to forgive himself for his mistakes.
"Hey, look," said Cass, staring up ahead. "We're almost back where we started, Dean!"
Dean finally stood up and helped Cass to his feet.
"All right!" he shouted as he started walking, Cass following by his side. "I'm starving! I'm ready for some pot pie! And for dessert, homemade apple pie!"
"I'm glad I got to make that with you," Cass said softly as he smiled to himself. "I really enjoyed it." He could tell his cheeks were heating up again. It was a strange human reaction, he thought. Back when he was an angel, he still had the same feelings for Dean, but it was easier to control them. Being human made that much more difficult, although now it was easier for Dean to know how he felt most of the time.
As his face flushed, Dean replied, "Well, you know, there are still a lot of pies left to make. I've been thinking cherry or blueberry. Oh, and we're definitely making pecan and pumpkin for Thanksgiving. We gotta have both!"
"They all sound delicious," Cass sighed as he felt his hunger rise. "You're making me even hungrier than I already am. I didn't know that was even possible."
"You're human. Anything's possible."
About six minutes later, they finally made it back to the bunker.
Just as Dean started to head to the entrance, he felt Cass tugging the back of his jacket. Turning around, he could see that Cass looked worried about something.
"What's wrong, Cass?"
"Can you promise me something? If we run into anymore deer next time, will you—I mean, when we go out again, can you watch out for—"
"Don't worry, Cass," Dean laughed softly. "I'll protect you, I promise. Vampires, murderers, or deer, I'll protect you from anything."
Before Cass could say anything, Dean's soft, warm lips were suddenly on his. He could also feel Dean's hands resting on his shoulders. This time, it was a real kiss, not just a peck. Although Dean had kissed him before when he was still an angel, it was nothing like now. Being human made it much more pleasurable.
Cass knew that he only ever wanted Dean to love and touch him. He wished that time could stop so they could just stay in this moment forever.
A few minutes later, Dean finally pulled his lips away. Without meaning to, Cass started to whimper in response.
"I'm sorry, I'll give you some more after dinner, okay?" Dean said reassuringly. Admittedly, he thought it was cute how needy Cass was now.
"Okay," Cass agreed softly. As much as he hated stopping, he needed to eat right now. He couldn't wait any longer.
Separating himself from Cass, Dean walked on ahead to the door as quickly as he could. If he didn't get food in his stomach soon or his dinner got cold, he was going to be pissed.
"So, Dean," Cass said as he caught up to Dean unlocking the door. "I'm still confused. What is a pot pie? I thought all pies were dessert. How can we be having pie for dinner? Are we actually having dessert for dinner?"
Dean finally opened the door. "I love you, Cass," he laughed as the two of them entered the bunker. "Don't ever change."
That was actually a lot more slash than I originally intended, but I'm happy with it. If it wasn't already obvious, Dean and Cass are a couple and will be for the rest of this series.
I don't know why, but I just thought that Cass would be the kind of person animals flock to, like a Disney princess.
